Are y’all sick of all my ugly construction type tutorials yet? After all the framing and drywall dust I’ve been breathing, I just wanted to put down my hammer and flex my creativity a little. The perfect project presented itself in the form of these two lamps I picked up at the Habitat ReStore for $15.
They had a white matte finish, perfect for writing on. The few scuffs were buffed off with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. (Anyone else addicted to those miracle sponges?)
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Then I got down to the long and tedious work {snort laughing.} Okay, not really work, this is almost the easiest tutorial EVER!)
Materials:
- Sharpie
- ScotchBlue Painter’s Tape
- X-acto knife
- Ruler
- Cutting Mat
- Sharpie Marker
Instructions:
Lay a long strip of painter’s tape onto the cutting mat. Cut 1/4″ strips of tape with an x-acto knife, using the ruler for a guide.
Spiral the tape onto the surface of the lamp.
Write your favorite song lyrics, a poem, or a reading from your wedding onto the lamp with the Sharpie.
You can peel the tape off as you write or after you are done. I found it easier to peel as I wrote so the descending letters didn’t get squished.
Add a pretty lampshade and you are DONE!
Did you time yourself? Was it under 10 minutes?
I think it took me more time to hunt down a working light bulb than it did to create this tutorial.
Are you still hanging around? That’s it—shortest Pretty Handy Girl tutorial EVER!
If you are still reading, go ahead and pin this project…you know you want to ;-). Have a fabulous weekend.
Marianne@Songbird says
March 1, 2013 at 8:02 amWoman! Where do you get the time, energy and inspiration from! Love it. Now I guess I’d better be off and find myself a lamp to give a little makeover.
Brittany (aka Pretty Handy Girl) says
March 1, 2013 at 8:16 pmYeah, ummmm, I’m not sure where I get it. But, I do know that if I spend too much time behind the computer I get antsy.
Feral Turtle says
March 1, 2013 at 8:54 amHaha! So cute and creative! Cheers.
Brittany (aka Pretty Handy Girl) says
March 1, 2013 at 8:16 pmThanks! Feral Turtle.
seansmom says
March 1, 2013 at 1:25 pmGreat idea! I’ve been looking at the lamp in one of our guesthouse bedrooms and wondering what I could do to “jazz” it up a bit… Since the pictures on the walls all have tractors and barns in them, think I just might go with “Old MacDonald Had a Farm”… Unless someone else can think of a better “farm” song???
Brittany (aka Pretty Handy Girl) says
March 1, 2013 at 8:20 pmSeans Mom, LOL, or Farmer in the Dell? LOL
Jessica @ Mom 4 Real says
March 1, 2013 at 7:47 pmI adore it! I will be keeping my eyes open in the lamp section of Goodwill and the Restore tomorrow!
Brittany (aka Pretty Handy Girl) says
March 1, 2013 at 8:20 pmThanks Jessica 😉 Have a great weekend.
SheilaG @ Plum Doodles says
March 1, 2013 at 7:54 pmI love this idea! I just did a lamp makeover, too, but yours looks way cooler! Now I need to go find a cursive writing class for senior citizens (no, I didn’t mean creative writing….).
Brittany (aka Pretty Handy Girl) says
March 1, 2013 at 8:21 pmSheila, My kids are obsessed with learning to write in cursive. But, I doubt they’ll ever learn, it’s just not taught anymore.
Beth Morrow says
March 1, 2013 at 8:29 pmI think I’m pretty clever, but this I would have never come with! Love it…you are a rock star!
Terri says
March 1, 2013 at 9:19 pmNeat idea! Got me thinking about a dark background with gold or silver Sharpie writing…
Brittany (aka Pretty Handy Girl) says
March 2, 2013 at 12:56 pmTerri, that sounds gorgeous! You should go for it and then send me a picture!
Cher @ Designs by Studio C says
March 1, 2013 at 10:39 pmOk, Brittany, if you don’t mind sharing – what lyrics did you use?? I would understand if you didn’t want to share but I still blame you for my new Silhouette obsession!! (I love it!!)
Brittany (aka Pretty Handy Girl) says
March 2, 2013 at 12:58 pmCher, well actually the first lamp I used the Dave Matthews Band song: You and Me But, for the second lamp (shown in the full shots) I used a reading from our wedding: Apache Wedding Verse.
Cher @ Designs by Studio C says
March 3, 2013 at 9:02 amThank you, Brittany… I was curious! I think this would be a great idea for my son’s dorm room!
Brittany (aka Pretty Handy Girl) says
March 3, 2013 at 9:50 amMinus the wedding poem, right?! LOL. But, can you see yourself writing heavy metal lyrics like Skillrex on there? Now THAT would be a great blog post.
Cher @ Designs by Studio C says
March 3, 2013 at 11:42 amLOL! I’m on it!! He’s a huge fan of Skrillex and Deadmau5 (“dead mouse” in case you didn’t know)!! That would be awesome!!
Brittany (aka Pretty Handy Girl) says
March 3, 2013 at 1:38 pmOh whoa, my world’s just collided. I didn’t realize Deadmau5 was a band. He’s engaged to Kat the tattoo artist, right? I follow them on Instagram. LOL.
Cher @ Designs by Studio C says
March 3, 2013 at 2:16 pmYes, and my son is having a cow about it – He says that Kat Von D is squashing Deadmau5’s creativity because he hasn’t released any new material since they started dating! And they say boys aren’t into drama… Ha!! My son is one of the admins on the Skrillex Mothership website. He helped create it!
Pam says
March 2, 2013 at 3:19 amHi Brittany!!
I love this idea!! I wish my hand writing was better to give this as a gift.
Thank you for all your great ideas!!
Have a great weekend!!
Pam
Crystal says
March 2, 2013 at 3:30 pmKuddos!! So cute and unique. Love it!!
liz says
March 3, 2013 at 1:06 amThat is a sweet Lamp! I am always amazed at your energy and creativity. Nicely done.
Janice says
March 4, 2013 at 11:56 amNow I am thinking of doing the same with my favorite song for my husband. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
ali thompson says
March 4, 2013 at 4:27 pmoooh, i love this! simple and fast–the best diy’s.
Christine Crowley Welby says
March 6, 2013 at 2:23 amGreat idea Brittany! I love that little makeover. A very simple and creative idea made that lamp a great accessory for the bedroom. You also could use small pieces of glass tiles to add some color (maybe for that small table).
Debbie @ Pink Texas Chick says
March 6, 2013 at 4:22 pmNeat idea!